I built the Daedric Armor from Skyrim! AMA!

How did you acquire all the necessary daedra hearts?

Killing all of the necessary daedra :)

How much did it cost you and how long did it take to build?

I estimate somewhere around $400 in materials and about 5 month of work on nights and weekends.

What enchantments do you have on it? But seriously, looks amazing, planning to create and sell by request?

According to some comments, +100 virginity apparently :)

I don't currently have any plans to create and sell more of these. This armor would only fit someone of my height/weight so not many would want to buy it, plus it looks great on display at my house :). And it took too long to build to make any more of them on request. I want my next big project to be something different. This is just a hobby/fun thing I do on the side.

Are you interested in coming to a day of filming for my Elder Scrolls short film on April 27th in Orlando? :)

Not sure what my availability is like that weekend :(

Wow, that looks amazing!... but will it blend?

Thanks! And yes it will....into a delicious smoothie of foam/glue/sweat goodness.

How much time did you spend playing Skyrim and why did you liked it

I actually got into Skyrim when I saw screenshots of that armor online and thought it would be awesome to build. I think I have something like 150 hours spent playing skyrim, which I know isn't much compared to some. Funny thing is I don't even have that armor in the game :) I would if I didn't spend all that time building it for real.

Only 150 hours..try 150 days fucking casuals

nice! back in my MMO days, I think I had something like 400 days in EQ

a few questions

Have you done any other armor work

What is the suit made out of

what tools did you need to make it

This was my first time working with foam armor. I've worked with fiberglass in the past (ironman armor) but nothing to this level before.

Like I said this suit is made primarily of EVA foam (floor mat foam), the leather parts are faux alligator leather.

The tools were pretty basic, hot glue gun, scissors, box cutter, X-actor knives, rulers, paintbrushes, heat gun.

I used Pepakura software to print out all the individual pieces of the 3d armor onto card stock paper. Then I cut the pieces out of paper, trace them onto foam, cut those out as well and then glue them together to match the model. The foam is then sealed (I used Mod Podge), painted (acrylic paint), weathered, and varnished.

Check out the build thread link in my first post to see more details of the actual built process.

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Aela the Huntress

You were the one from Megacon?

Yep, that was me!

Did it take you longer to get the Daedric Armor in game or in real life?

Haha, I spent so much time making it for real, I don't even have it in game yet :)

That's some awesome stuff right there

Thank you!

How many silver rings did you have to forge in order to level up in your Smithing?

I'm a Daedric prince so the armor came for free! :)

How hard is it to work with foam for stuff like this? Is a special type of foam needed? how do you go about getting the right size for the armor pieces?

Foam was really easy to work with, you can cut/sand/glue it with no trouble at all. I used regular EVA foam of different thicknesses (3mm, 8mm, 1/2inch). I used Pepakura software to scale the armor to the right size prior to making all the pieces.

Did you actually skip leg day?

I never skip leg day! :)

Through out the process, did you ever reach a point that you wanted rage quit and throw out the whole project? If so, when and how many times.

I was definitely starting to get burned out towards the end (maybe 3 month in), but at that point I had to finish it!

I got lucky with my sizing of the pieces, If I spent like a week working on that helmet and it turned out too big/small I would have probably rage quit right there.

What's your favorite kind of soup?

lately it has been lentil soup!

no questions, just wanted to say that's one of the best cosplays i've ever seen.

Thank you!

What got you into building Daedric Armor, and are you going to do anything similar in the future.

I was looking for a really unique armor to make and found screenshots/concept art of the Daedric Armor which I thought looked amazing. So that armor is actually what got me into playing Skyrim.

I saw you at Megacon too on Saturday. I got a couple pictures myself haha. Just wanted to applaud you on your attention to detail!

Thank you! It took a long time to make, but was worth it in the end

Do dwemer next.

I think my next project is going in a different direction. :)

Is that all EVA foam, or are some parts pep/fiberglass/bondo?

Great work, btw. As a 405th/RPF lurker, I am very impressed.

Its all EVA foam. I did use pep files to make it though and transfered to foam.

i plan one day to make myself some dead space 2 riot armor, ant tips?

I'm playing Dead Space 2 right now! I suggest checking out http://www.therpf.com/ forum, they are my favorite resource for armor building. There are a couple of excellent dead space armors on there.

This is Awesome! I got a picture of you Friday at megacon! I didn't really get to go to alot of panels/shows due to how crazy things were. Did you enter in the Costume contest? And did you win?

I did enter the costume contest, but I did not win :( Although the judges did say they liked mine alot

I thought this was a joke, I thought this meant that you finally crafted the armor in the game and you wanted to do an AMA about it lol

Haha, I probably should have worded it better :)

I am pretty sure I saw you at Megacon yesterday. The costume was amazing in person.

If you saw it at megacon, then it was me! :)

What is your favorite quest-line and why?

The Dark Brotherhood quest line was really cool. Also any of the quests where you deal with the different daedra

Just wanted to say my brothers and I have worked with EVA foam for awhile on various other projects, and now we're totally wanting to make armor sets using the files you linked for Gencon this year.

Glass is really appealing but damn that'll be a bitch to paint.

Question: How did you go about painting and any tips/suggestions for more metallic looking paint? Would you recommend a dremel for detailing work as well?

I know some people use a dremel, but when I tried it it didn't work too well with the foam I had, It would work better on more denser foam. I did use sandpaper to sand some things down.

For the metallic paint job, I used acrylic paint. Started with black base, then used gunmetal metallic paint over that, then I added the weathering effect by painting watered down black paint over the metallic , letting it dry slightly and then rubbing it off with a moist paper towel. This creates a worn weathered effect!

I totally saw you at megacon! I was titan eren

Awesome!

Why you no build dragonplate? ????

It was either this or dragonplate, I liked the asymmetry of the Daedric armor.

obligatory never getting laid comment

You're a little late

How did you get started in making cosplay outfits? Have you always been artistic/crafty or did you learn all the skills just through creating various outfits?

I learned everything by trial and error and doing a ton of research online prior to starting. This was actually my first full armor project. I've always been into art and crafts though!

I hope to start making my own N7 Armor(Mass Effect) sometime soon. I'm almost to afraid to start it in fear of messing it up. Any particular advice? Here's a good example.

I say go for it! Try making a smaller piece first, maybe the helmet! There are a ton of resources online for the N7 armor, check out the RPF forum for many build threads

You should start making other types of armor now, such as Glass or Dragon Bone.

I think my next armor will be something more modern

What's the process of putting it on and taking it off like?

The boots go on first, then the leg plates with attachments around my legs and up to a belt (supported by suspenders). I then put on the leather front and back pieces which cover up the belt supporting the leg plates. I then put on the breastplate, which opens on the sides under the arms. After that I put on the bracers/gloves and finally the helmet. I usually need another person to help me with the clasps under the arms and bracers.

How much money did it cost and how long did it take?

Approximately $400 for all the materials, and 5 month

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No, unfortunately I won't be there this year :(

I have nothing to ask just wanted to say that you did an excellent job!

thank you!

OMG it's so sexy

thank you! :)

Where did you learn to forge?

Whiterun

Why are you doing an AMA..?

Cause I was told I should make one.

You're not that same guy who made that awesome iron man outfit but then scammed people into buying low quality versions of it are you? I hear he's a douche.

nope, I'm not selling anything

How large is your basement?

not many basements in Florida :(

An obvious one: have you taken an arrow to that unprotected knee, and did it cause you to no longer be an adventurer, but instead a guard?

Yes sir, I have taken a number of arrows to both knees.

Where do your farts go?

everywhere!!! with strategic accuracy

How fragile is it?

the armor itself is pretty strong, any damage would be cracks in the paint job not the structure of the armor itself. It definitely requires some minor repairs/touch-ups after wearing it all day.

How long did it take you to build, from start to finish?

Total about 5 month, on nights and weekends

How sturdy is it? I could imagine that with foam that one bad bump into some dumb-ass oversize Pikachu would do in one of those horns...

The layers of hot glue, eva sealer, acrylic paint, and varnish create some level of protection but there is definitely some wear to it. I usually have to make repairs after wearing the armor. Foam is not the most durable material to work with. I hear people use foam resins (like Smooth-On Epsilon Foam Coating) over foam to protect it. I will need to try that on future projects, or switch to materials like worbla

Do you like cats?

I like cats, but prefer dogs.

What is the armour made out of, and how heavy is it? I can't imagine it would be very light.

It's actually fairly light because it is made out of EVA foam.

How long did it take to reach Lv. 90 smithing?

I still haven't in the game, too busy doing it in real life :)

Have you seen a vagina

Yes, sir!

Is this really AMA material?

I think so.